ZIP 48009 vs ZIP 48084

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48009 (Birmingham, MI) and ZIP 48084 (Troy, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48009 has a population of 20,107 at 1,539 people per square mile, while ZIP 48084 has 14,231 at 889 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 48009 reports a median household income of $153,401 against $107,098 in ZIP 48084, with per-capita income of $108,935 vs $60,301. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 76.8% in 48009 and 73.0% in 48084. Poverty rate reads 5.0% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 6.3% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $697,900 in 48009 versus $444,200 in 48084, with median rent of $1,902 and $1,671 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 45.8%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.